Political enclave that existed between 1948 and 1990
For other uses, see West Berlin (disambiguation).
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West Berlin
West-Berlin Berlin-Ouest Berlin (West)
1948–1990
Flag
Coat of arms
West Berlin (red)
Status
Western Allies–occupied sectors of Berlin Free city (De facto territory of the Federal Republic of Germany)
Official languages
German
Governing Mayor
• 1948–1953 (first)
Ernst Reuter (SPD)
• 1989–1990 (last)
Walter Momper (SPD)
Historical era
Cold War
• Soviet-backed coup against the elected government of Berlin
November 1948
• Reunification
3 October 1990
Currency
Deutsche Mark (official) United States dollar (also widely used)
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Allied-occupied Germany
Germany
Berlin
Today part of
Germany
Part of a series on the
History of Berlin
Margraviate of Brandenburg (1157–1806)
Kingdom of Prussia (1701–1918)
German Empire (1871–1918)
Free State of Prussia (1918–1947)
Weimar Republic (1919–1933)
1920s Berlin
Assassination of Talat Pasha
Greater Berlin Act
Nazi Germany (1933–1945)
Welthauptstadt Germania
Deportation of Jews from Berlin
Bombing of Berlin in World War II
Battle of Berlin
West Germany and East Germany (1945–1990)
West Berlin and East Berlin
Berlin Wall
Berlin Blockade (1948–1949)
Berlin Crisis of 1961
"Ich bin ein Berliner" (1963)
"Tear down this wall!" (1987)
Fall of the Berlin Wall (1989)
Federal Republic of Germany (1990–present)
History of Germany and History of Europe
See also
Timeline of Berlin
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West Berlin (German: Berlin (West) or West-Berlin, German pronunciation:[ˈvɛstbɛʁˌliːn]ⓘ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1990, the territory was claimed by the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), despite being entirely surrounded by East Germany (GDR). The legality of this claim was contested by the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries. However, West Berlin de facto aligned itself politically with the FRG from May 1949 and was thereafter treated as a de facto city-state of that country. After 1949, it was directly or indirectly represented in the institutions of the FRG, and most of its residents were citizens of the FRG.
West Berlin was formally controlled by the Western Allies and entirely surrounded by East Berlin and East Germany. West Berlin had great symbolic significance during the Cold War, as it was widely considered by westerners an "island of freedom".[1] It was heavily subsidised by West Germany as a "showcase of the West".[2] A wealthy city, West Berlin was noted for its distinctly cosmopolitan character, and as a centre of education, research and culture. With about two million inhabitants, West Berlin had the largest population of any city in Germany during the Cold War era.[3]
West Berlin was 160 km (100 mi) east and north of the Inner German border and only accessible by land from West Germany by narrow rail and highway corridors. It consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors established in 1945. The Berlin Wall, built in 1961, physically separated West Berlin from its East Berlin and East German surroundings until it fell in 1989.[4] On 3 October 1990, the day Germany was officially reunified, East and West Berlin united, joined the Federal Republic as a Stadtstaat (city-state) and, eventually, again became the capital of Germany.
^Daum, Andreas W. (2000). "America's Berlin, 1945‒2000: Between Myths and Visions". In Trommler, Frank (ed.). Berlin: The New Capital in the East(PDF). Johns Hopkins University. pp. 49–73. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
^Tobias Hochscherf, Christoph Laucht, Andrew Plowman, Divided, But Not Disconnected: German Experiences of the Cold War, p. 109, Berghahn Books, 2013, ISBN 9781782381006
^"Berlin: Where Rivalry of East, West Soars" Archived 31 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine, U.S. News & World Report, 18 July 1983
^"1961: Berliners wake to divided city" Archived 25 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News
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